While the Swiss make some of the best watches watches in world, German watches are certainly not far behind in design and performance. One area they do lag is in consumer awareness. A German-made timepiece isn't the first thought for many freshman watch shoppers. But, for those in the know, the German watch category is a formidable frontier that has steadily emerged and is respectably competitive with Swiss watches, as a point of comparison.
Any comparison will always be a laborious one, though, simply because Swiss watches and German watches are fundamentally different in purpose and design. And, there are strong opinions among Swiss watch loyalists. Swiss and German watches
both have honorable reputations for quality and precision, but they
have distinct design philosophies and manufacturing approaches. Swiss
watches often prioritize luxury and elegant designs, while German
watches lean towards a more functional, Bauhaus-inspired aesthetic with a
focus on precision and robustness.
So much has already been said about Swiss watches, so let's just turn the spotlight on to German watches. Their origin alone is a remarkable story of historical triumph.
No less than 200 years ago, the Saxony cities of Pforzheim and Glashütte became known for quality watchmaking. In 1845, Ferdinand Adolph Lange, who is indeed related to the watchmaking company A. Lange & Söhne, opened up a watchmaking facility in Glashütte that would be the beginning of a localized industrial revolution. By the 19th Century, as watches started to become en vogue among the masses, legendary German watch brands Laco and Stowa were founded.
Yet just around the corner, German industry would be forced into two consecutive world wars discontinuing a trajectory of German watchmaking. In World War II, watch companies in Pforzheim and Glashütte were commanded to produce fuses for Nazi weaponry, which made them a major
strategic target for the Allies. In 1945, the Allies practically
destroyed them all. Both Stowa and Laco would have to literally start from
scratch if they wanted to make another watch. Meanwhile, the original A. Lange & Söhne was nationalized and ceased to exist in 1948, following the occupation by the Soviet Union after World War II.
Today, even after the notorious Quartz Crisis, too, Stowa, Laco and A. Lange & Söhne have persevered. They are thriving and join a new German watchmaking renaissance, which is an excellent development for watch enthusiasts and collectors, especially those captivated by watches with deep historical roots and significance as German watches most certainly are. In fact, many German watches on the market today are either original replicas of wartime German military timepieces, inspired by historical stories of grit and triumph, or have always been German-made luxury watch brands tied into Swiss design since the early 18th Century.
Regardless of price, German watches are expressly known
for technical precision with great accuracy, attention to detail, engineering and
functionality. This philosophy is evocative of German manufacturing
philosophy, and designs have clean finishes. Typically, but not exclusively, a German watch is
elegantly understated, rather than overtly stylish. But, there are many exceptions so it's best to keep your mind open.
German watches tend to occupy a few broad categories: Luxury
brands like A. Lange & Söhne and Glashütte Original, brands known for Bauhaus-style Junghans and NOMOS Glashütte, and tool watches such as Sinn, Laco and Hanhart. Bauhaus style is a design movement characterized by functionality and simplicity emphasizing clean lines and minimal ornamentation. The style famously emerged in the early 20th century in Germany.
Here is list of German-made watches today -- some traditional, some innovative, some legendary, some entirely modern and "micro brands" -- all harnessing German watchmaking ethos:
NOMOS Glashütte, based in Glashütte, Saxony, was founded in January 1990, two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. NOMOS designs are known for their clean and modernist aesthetic. The Orion combines Deutscher Werkbund, a 19th Century movement aimed at improving German industrial design, and Bauhaus
traditions. This version is manually wound, and presents golden indexes and
tempered blue hands on a white silver-plated dial. The case and back are stainless steel and the strap is Horween leather. The movement is NOMOS' in-house Alpha caliber.
Archimede Deckwatch
Archimede is a 100-year-old watchmaker based in Pforzheim, where virtually every part is developed and manufactured in-house. The Archimede Deckwatch, Model No. UA7929-H1.2 in particular, is styled after old Imperial German Navy watches and powered by a Swiss-made ETA 6498 movement. Most Navy watches had white dials, while, for the German Army, a matte black dial was standard to prevent enemy forces from targeting the watch. The solidly crafted three-piece case with sapphire
crystal is made from finely brushed stainless steel and finished in-house. It presents a silver dial and is fitted a brown leather strap.
Laco Memmingen
Laco, based Pforzheim, was founded in 1925. With a strong demand for pilot watches, Laco survived the devastating effects of World War II and in the mid 1950s employed 1,400 people who produced as many as 80,000 manual movements per month. The Laco Memmingen is part of a family of watches under the Pilot Watch Original heading. It contains a Swiss Laco 04 manual movement and presents thermal
blued hands with dial markers treated with SuperLuminova C3 for readability in the dark. As with all original WWII Laco watches,
there is no date window. Similarly, as with the
original Luftwaffe models, the case has FL23883 engraved on
the case side representing the former classification number of the original.
